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3 Tips for Using Social Video to Promote Your Brand on Super Bowl Sunday

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It's almost time for nachos, hot wings, commercials, and football. It's Super Bowl weekend, a good time for marketers to grab the attention of millions of Americans-even if you don't have $5 million for a 30-second ad. The sheer ubiquity of social media and, more and more, social video, make it possible for DIY marketers to get their fair share of Super Bowl attention.

"In the past, video marketing was reserved mainly for large brands with large budgets who can afford to film commercials and advertise on television," says Cyndi Knapic, head of Animoto for business. "However, now that consumers are spending their time on social media networks and thanks to DIY tools, smaller businesses and marketers now have access to a large audience, have affordable ways to create videos to promote themselves, and can better engage with their next customer."

Back in 2013 the Oreo brand garnered lots of attention when the lights went out at the Superdome and the social media team at Oreo responded with the now famous "You can still dunk in the dark" tweet. But a tweet can be whipped up in seconds, and not every Super Bowl will go dark, giving brands a chance to "newsjack" the big event. That, however, does not mean you won't be able to use the media attention around the Super Bowl to your advantage.

Knapic has a few tips for marketers looking to use social video to reach that epic audience. She says:

"Simplify and keep it relevant -- You don't need a lot of content to make a big impact as evidenced by the Oreo tweet. The same principle applies to video. It's more important to create something simple and timely by using photos and video clips that you may already have or can shoot quickly, than creating something that is no longer relevant if it takes weeks or months to create."

"Create videos that can be understood without audio -- Videos auto-play without sound in Twitter or Facebook news feeds unless a viewer chooses to turn it on. Additionally, we know that people browse social media while watching TV. In fact, last year, there were 28.5 million tweets during the Super Bowl so it's important to keep in mind that people may be seeing your content on mute because they are watching the big game with others. As such, use captions and titles to create videos that still have meaning, whether or not you can hear them."

"Keep your content short -- As a general rule of thumb, keep your videos as short as possible and only as long as required to get your point across. It's especially important to grab your viewer's attention within the first 3 seconds of your video to capture their attention amidst competing content."

These days, though, video is becoming a real-time medium. You can live stream to YouTube or Periscope, and some brands may want to try this on game day. What do they need to know? "Big events and holidays such as the Super Bowl may not be the right time share your traditional company overview with the world, but it is a great time for more subtle brand placement by being part of the conversation," says Knapic. "By leveraging DIY tools, marketers and small businesses should feel empowered to create relevant and timely video marketing content that looks professional."

With that in mind, she continues: "Depending on your business, some easy ideas include using your iPhone or camera to capture a few photos or short video clips of product use or placement at game day parties, employees' reactions captured during the events (wearing branded company swag and with their permission of course), or the use of football-themed props when filming."

Good luck on game day, marketers! You've got this!

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